1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an acoustic guitar, and more particularly to an acoustic guitar with a unique bracing system.
2. Description of Related Art
Strumming the strings of an acoustic guitar produces sound not only from the vibration of the strings, but also from the transference of those vibrations through the guitar""s bridge into the soundboard. The soundboard, which is essentially a vibrating plate, has its own limitations on natural vibrating frequencies and careful design is therefore required in order to achieve the desired frequency response. Essentially, the more freely the soundboard can vibrate, the better the tone and sustain of the guitar. Unfortunately, the soundboard must be strong enough to support the tension created by the guitar strings, and some of the best soundboards are not able to support that tension without some type of support. Historically this support has come from attaching supportive bracing to the underside of the soundboard.
Soundboard bracing is often complex, difficult to construct, expensive to produce, and highly restrictive to the soundboard. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,034 to Kaman discloses a guitar in which the tension forces in the strings are reacted through a central portion of the bout where the single conventional sound hole is normally provided. The sound holes are located in the upper bout. The ""034 patent can be differentiated from the present invention because the tension reacting forces of the present invention consist of graphite ribs that are curved rather than straight and extend from the bottom to the neck of the guitar. The present invention also has a reinforced neck and novel neck block.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,654 to Kasha discloses a bracing system for a guitar-type stringed instrument using a plurality of multidirectional braces attached to the underside of a soundboard. The ""654 patent can be differentiated from the present invention in that the present invention uses a fewer number of longer curved graphite ribs which extend from the base of the guitar to the neck block. The ""654 patent also does not disclose a flared neck block.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,461,958 and 5,952,592 disclose acoustic guitar assemblies having a bracing on the underside of the soundboard that surrounds a centrally located sound hole. The ""958 and ""592 patents can be distinguished from the present invention because they lack curved braces which travel from the guitar base to the neck block and they disclose centrally located sound holes which are not included in the present invention.
A second problem with prior art guitar designs is that guitar neck joints and necks are not strong enough to resist the tension created by the strings. Over time the guitar develops a warped neck or breaks at the neck joint, which is often a dovetail joint.
An example of a prior art solution to the above problems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,172,405, which discloses a guitar neck that is stiffened by an adjustable rod and a rearward extending heel that connects to the guitar body. The ""405 patent is distinguishable from the present invention in that the present invention includes varying lengths of graphite rods to stiffen the guitar neck as well as a traditional truss rod. The neck of the present invention is also butted directly against the neck block and epoxied, unlike traditional guitar assembly.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.
The acoustic guitar assembly is a guitar with a novel bracing system that enhances guitar tone and sustain as well as durability. The guitar assembly has a traditional soundboard with an external surface, internal surface, a top, a bottom, a left side and a right side. The soundboard is supported on its internal surface by a bracing assembly including a plurality of individual ribs. The ribs originate in a central position a few inches from the top of the soundboard and fan out into positions along the bottom end of the soundboard. There are two sound holes defined in the soundboard, one located on each side of the top of the soundboard.
The invention also includes a novel neck block. The neck block has flared top and bottom portions, and a constricted central portion. Viewed from above or below, the neck block has two parallel edges, one longer than the other. The parallel edges are connected by two arching edges. The neck block supports the neck, soundboard and backboard of the guitar.
The guitar neck is strengthened by four graphite rods. A traditional truss rod runs down the center of the neck and the graphite rods are paired on each side of the truss rod. The rods abut a novel graphite support plate at the bottom of the neck. The support plate is rectangular, is approximately the width of the neck, and is glued to the soundboard.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an acoustic guitar assembly that produces superior sound quality.
It is another object of the invention to provide an acoustic guitar assembly of high strength.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an acoustic guitar assembly that is resistant to warping.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an acoustic guitar assembly that is light in weight.
It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.